My attributes are increasing infinitely Chapter 429: Seeking the enemy himself

Ethan's incarnation fought to raise his head.

The scene in front of him warped and distorted, like reality had become meaningless. His soul felt ripped apart, fractured in numerous spots, and each effort to concentrate unleashed surges of agony across his being. Despite that, he faintly discerned the silhouette of a middle-aged man positioned in front of him.

That figure seemed recognizable.

Not just by looks, but at a core level. A profound, gut-level familiarity stirred in Ethan's broken soul, as though he was looking at a person he'd encountered over endless reincarnations.

Gathering the last bits of his determination, Ethan's incarnation compelled himself upright. His limbs shook violently, on the verge of collapsing, but he held firm. Then, with true reverence, he inclined his body.

"Thank you, sir, for saving me."

The man regarded him steadily, his gaze deep and impossible to read, like eyes that had seen entire universes bloom and crumble. After a brief pause, he uttered.

"Don't worry about thanks. Starting now, I am your master."

He halted for a second.

"I am called Mr. Hunt."

Those words triggered a vibration deep inside Ethan's incarnation, even if he didn't grasp the reason. Before he could reply, Mr. Hunt shifted his attention afar, where Jenna and her butler remained rooted to the spot.

The atmosphere thickened intensely.

"Get out of the Magus World," Mr. Hunt stated without emotion. "And stay away forever."

No fury colored his tone, no elevation in pitch. Still, the command held an unyielding power that caused the world's rules to quiver. Before Jenna or the butler could react, the fabric of space crumpled together.

Mr. Hunt and Ethan's incarnation disappeared.

Quietness descended in their wake.

Jenna gripped her hands so hard that blood trickled from her palms. Her nails pierced her flesh, her fingers pale from bottled rage.

"I want the two of them gone," she snarled, her stare filled with poison.

The butler offered no protest. He swiftly triggered a communication device and reached out to the family head, describing all that had transpired.

On the receiving side, the patriarch sank into a chilling hush.

Then his voice exploded, laced with wrath and dread.

"Fools! Complete idiots! Are you trying to wipe out our whole clan?"

His breaths came ragged.

"Come back to the family at once. Disobey, and I'll end you myself."

Jenna's features contorted in bitterness, yet she understood defiance was pointless. Her father's decree was absolute. Beyond that, he spoke truth.

Someone who could easily exchange a tenth-dimensional treasure for a lowly third-dimensional life wasn't an opponent they could challenge.

Saying nothing more, Jenna and her butler departed the Magus World, rising to the ninth dimension.

A gateway flickered to life inside an enormous imperial hall.

It was the hall from Ethan's incarnation's early years.

Time passed unevenly in the Magus World; eons had elapsed. All of Ethan's lineage had faded away long ago, turned to ashes and erased from records.

Ethan's incarnation remained motionless, encircled by known places and the overwhelming burden of grief he couldn't shake.

He cherished his relatives and companions deeply, and when age had claimed them, he was powerless to intervene back then. Strength had eluded him.

Lacking kin, lacking direction, he wandered aimlessly. His cultivation halted. His resolve faded.

He grew frail. Unnaturally so.

Mr. Hunt watched him in stillness.

Suddenly, he lifted his arm.

The realm quaked.

In a flash, Ethan's full cultivation foundation crumbled. Strata of strength broke apart like fragile crystal, scattering into void. The force that had shaped him vanished entirely.

Ethan's incarnation reeled backward, gazing at Mr. Hunt in terror, as if facing a fiend from nightmares.

Why?

If his master desired his end, he could've let him perish earlier. Why rescue him just to shatter him here?

His bewilderment showed clearly on his expression.

"Don't stare at me that way," Mr. Hunt replied evenly. "Your base is trash."

Ethan went rigid.

"You tried pursuing three routes simultaneously. Magus, knight, beast master. Skilled in everything, expert in nothing. Such a path only breeds average results."

Mr. Hunt's eyes intensified.

"That's why I demolished it all. Even your magus and knight aptitudes."

Ethan's incarnation sensed his spirit plummet.

"From this point, you'll train solely as a beast master."

Quietness lingered.

Ethan had truly held all three aptitudes of that realm, an extraordinary feat. Yet inwardly, he realized his master spoke correctly. He'd divided his efforts too widely, failing to achieve peak mastery in any one area.

After an extended pause, he bent low in respect.

"I get it."

Next, he raised his gaze, a flicker of fresh resolve shining in his eyes.

"Should we hunt a beast and start our training path, master?"

A subtle grin appeared on Mr. Hunt's composed features.

"We'll head to a realm where your gift truly matters."

With an effortless flick of his wrist, space fractured anew.

They stepped into a fresh domain.

Neither Ethan's incarnation nor Mr. Hunt knew this place, but he promptly shut his eyes and spread his awareness. His essence connected with the domain's principles, and insights poured into his thoughts.

This realm reached Progenitor tier.

The top powers dwelled at Progenitor level, supreme entities beyond origin worlds. The world they occupied ranked low in the structure, though.

The mightiest entity present was just a rank one beast master.

What captured Ethan's interest most was the training framework. It centered entirely on beast masters.

This domain featured nine hidden astral planes.

To qualify as a beast master, a person needed to rise to an astral plane via spirit force only. The ninth plane stood as the pinnacle, the first as the base.

The initial astral plane held everyday beasts. Dogs, cats, livestock, and similar ordinary animals with scant development prospects.

The ninth astral plane, by contrast, contained entities capable of evolving into Progenitors.

Entry remained limited, however.

Only emperor-rank individuals had the psychic capacity for the ninth plane. Monarchs managed the eighth. Those from thirty-sixth to sixty-ninth dimensions accessed the seventh. The sixth awaited tenth to thirty-fifth dimensional ones.

The fifth plane opened to fourth through ninth dimensional beings.

Third-dimensional ones could hope for the fourth astral plane at most, and only past rank twenty.

Here on this globe, though, most practitioners stuck to the first three astral planes.

Each plane had nine tiers, and spirit force alone decided ascent height to bond a fitting beast essence.

Having taken in all this, Ethan passed the details to his incarnation.

He intentionally omitted anything above the fourth plane.

Mr. Hunt addressed him once more.

"Pay close attention. At awakening, everyone gains a contract core."

"Using that core, they can climb the astral plane one time. Just one chance. No contract formed, and the core vanishes for good. They stay ordinary forever."

He faced Ethan.

"You're an exception, though. You'll get two cores."

Ethan's eyes expanded.

"You can climb the astral plane twice, or bind two beasts during one climb."

Mr. Hunt then pointed a finger.

"I'll impart a training technique that bolsters spirit force directly. Your progress hinges on your determination."

Ethan absorbed every word eagerly, his thrill hardly restrained. This domain brimmed with peril, enigma, and boundless scale.

"You'll join an academy," Mr. Hunt went on. "I'll wipe your recollections."

Ethan tensed.

"You'll think you're a fifteen-year-old youth, set to awaken tomorrow."

Ethan wavered.

"Master... will I lose all memories? Of my parents? My companions?"

"Yes."

Ethan's chest constricted.

"But once you seize the strength to bend space and time, you'll recall them and restore their lives."

The grief evaporated right away.

Ethan grinned.

"Thank you, Master. Go ahead and remove my memories."

With a basic motion, Mr. Hunt fulfilled the request.

Dawn broke.

Ethan gradually parted his eyelids.

A middle-aged figure loomed by his bedside, offering a soft smile.

"You're up at last," the figure noted. "Get ready for the academy quickly. Your awakening happens today."

Ethan sprang to his feet.

"Excitement must've made me sleep in. Thanks, Master."

Mr. Hunt had cleared everything, substituting it with this domain's pasts. Even more, he'd reshaped the Grand Dao, integrating Ethan's presence flawlessly into the fabric.

Every instructor. Every pupil. Every document.

All recalled Ethan like he'd always been part of it.

Now, nothing left but to observe his rise.

....

In the Dragon World, Ethan's duplicate perched at full readiness.

He resolved to confront that fearsome entity personally.

Triumph wasn't required.

Enduring sufficed.

Should he survive the clash, come morning, he'd match his foe's might.

He just had to endure.